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Are you a 2 faced specialist?

The conversation about having 2 Facebook pages came up yesterday on the NABA site.  We have addressed this before and I felt that there needs to be some explanation on whether your personal lifestyle or personal image can effect your EP career.  In short YES.

Most, if not all of the EP service provider company owners on the NABA site maintain 2 Facebook pages.  If you look at their personal pages you will find that they maintain a professional perspective of their lives or at least they should.  Of the ones that come to mind: Elijah Shaw, Mark James et al, if you look at their 2 pages you will see that even on their personal pages you will find the same image that they represent their companies and how they post and comment on the NABA site.  Both of them keep their pages consistent to their ultimate goal-Branding and professionalism.

Then there are others who have a professional page and a secondary covert page that usually falls under a fictitious name as a cover for who they really are.  Not only is this wrong but it can be damaging to you, and your career quest.  I have seen these pages where you go to their covert page and see that they are loose canons and far from the impression they protray on their professional “real name” page.  So which one is the real person?  Are they really a professional that wants to come across as another person to their friends [maybe] or are they the loose screw that wants to come off as a professional [probably].  Either way we [company owners] will always err on the side of caution.  The loose screw will win all the time and you will lose in your career path.

Like it or not the leaders and experts trade cards behind the scenes.  I will readily email, direct message and call another leader and inform them of someone that I think they should take a closer look at.  The same goes for anyone that is not a company owner that may be posting questions about a school or working with of for someone. If I have a reason to warn them, I will.  Like it or not.  I will never let someone I respect fall on their face when I know that I may have an opportunity to warn them of possible impending danger.

So here it is in a nutshell.  Social media is a tool and even a hammer can damage you if improperly used.  This advice is for the apprentice, journeyman and expert.  I know of 3 master carpenters that are missing fingers from using the tools of their trade.  So you can imagine the damage a tool can have in the hands of the unskilled or wrong person.  If you don’t know the basic rules of social media OR if you feel it is not something you can embrace, it is probably something you should stay away from until you get it.  Questionable posts or comments can have a long-lasting affect on your career and image.  BE CAREFUL and stop hiding.

6 comments

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  1. John Badillo

    Mr. Konohia trust is everything in this business even in the personal world.

    1. Eric Konohia

      So true John and if a person is hiding behind a fake name, how can you trust them?

  2. Raffaele

    I cannot speak for others, but for me I have accepted years ago that the professional and private me are the same person. The same story and details I give out at night, will be the same ones you see by the light of day. I do not care for surprises and as such I try not to provide them either.

    Keeps it simple for me and I don’t have to start worrying about addressing issues in two different lights.

    1. Eric Konohia

      Well put Raffaele

  3. Elijah Shaw

    Once again Eric, another insightful and timely post. I consider myself married to the profession, and it is so integrated into my lifestyle that it would not make sense for me to run two different pages. While some of what makes me a person does not relate at all to Executive Protection, nothing ever contradicts it.

    1. Eric Konohia

      So true Elijah. It’s not a hobby for us and we don’t treat it as such. My personal life is very important to me and how I manage it is a mirror reflection of how I manage my business.

      As any one of my family members, friends or fraternity brothers and they will tell you I go hard in everything I do.

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